The Wars They Partake
by Imaginarivalued
Summary: Uchiha Sasuke and the long way back home.
1. Chapter 1

Thunder roars somewhere within the armada of rainclouds that pelts rain at the ground below nonstop and with no foreseeable end.

Uchiha Sasuke walks, leisurely, almost swaying side to side, leaving a _long_ trail of footprints in the mud.

"Soon…" he whispers, a dark, unhappy grin as he continues to trudge along in the direction of the literally tangible source of massive chakra clashes.

That is until he spots a figure just across the field. Someone is there. Someone he recognizes.

Barely a minute later, they are standing face to face.

A beat.

Another beat.

And another—

"Sasuke-kun," Haruno Sakura says, maintaining firm eye contact.

He doesn't answer, and moves on past her—

He catches movement in his peripheral and instinctively leaps backwards, landing in a blade-drawing stance, and watches as the tendril of shadow slithers back.

Immediately after, part of the muddy field erupts and a couple of figures emerge.

"Troublesome," Nara Shikamaru sighs, swiping some mud off his shoulders. "Figures the landscape offers no advantages for an ambush."

Akimichi Chouji grins and smacks his friend's back. "It was a good try, though, Shika!"

"Good try!.?" Yamanaka Ino screeches. "I have _mud _in my _hair_!"

Inuzuka Kiba barks in laughter, as he and Akamaru charges close from the left. "I think it's a good look for ya, Ino!"

"Arf arf!"

"Akamaru says you look kinda like bacon!"

Ino just growls as she stands next to Sakura, who is smirking.

"Yosh!" a blur that is soon revealed to be Lee Rock exclaims. "Worry not, Ino-san! Your hair is still very lustrous! Perhaps not as silky and well-conditioned as Neji-san's hair, but still very admirable!"

Sai, who is right beside the taijutsu specialist, smiles. "Hyuuga-san indeed has the flair of traditional beauty. Perhaps a nickname regarding _that_ is in order?"

"Lee, Sai," Hyuuga Neji hisses through his teeth, coming up from behind with Tenten. "Shut the hell up."

Tenten giggles and pats the Hyuuga's arm. "Oh, don't worry, Neji. You still look very manly. Well, mostly. Partly."

Neji gives her a flat stare.

A floating swarm of insects pass, and suddenly Aburame Shino stands in sight, eyes shaded, hooded, and hands in pockets. "We are here, of course, to stop former Konoha-nin, Uchiha Sasuke, for the obvious reason that he was once part of the Konoha Rookies, and we take _care _of our own."

Sasuke stares at them, apathetic. "Isn't there supposed to be a war the lot of you should be dying in?"

"We're right where we need to be, Sasuke-kun," Sakura says suddenly, barely above a whisper.

The Uchiha almost scoffs at his former female teammate. "What does it take? What does it _take_ to get it through your head that I _don't want to go back to that vile village_?"

Sakura…smiles? "We're not here to bring you back to Konoha, Sasuke-kun. Didn't you just hear Shino-san? We're here to put a stop to you."

Sasuke scoffs, and is about to retort when—

Two, clear trails of tears stream down her cheeks, mingling with the rain.

The Uchiha scion stares.

A beat.

"I love you, Sasuke-kun," Sakura declares, voice serene and calm. "I love you more than anyone else in the entire world. Well, maybe except for Ino."

"Pfft!" the blonde girl bristles, exhaling hard enough to lift her wet bangs. "You can keep that victory, Forehead. The duckbutt hair, anal prince of fashion disasters is all yours where I'm concerned."

Sakura giggles. "You have no idea how much I love you. You know, just a few days ago, someone confessed to me, during a war of all times. Said it was love at first sight. And when I rejected him, the only one I could think about was…you."

He frowns.

"I told him I was already in love with someone. He said the man who earned my affections must be a wonderful person." She looks at him for a long moment. "How ironic."

Sasuke's eyes narrow. "As if I care what you think."

Sakura smiles. "I know you don't. But I'll tell you anyway. I love you, Sasuke-kun. Always have, and apparently always will."

She sighs. "How I _hate _that."

He blinks.

"This is going to sound weird, but I love you more than I love Naruto, and I wish _so much _it's the other way around. Naruto is everything you're not, and he's wonderful."

He snorts. "No wonder he has no brain."

She smiles. "He has _heart._ A capacity to _love._"

He glares at her. "I have that as well. Just not for any of _you._"

"You may say that," she replies, eyes still soft. "But it's not true. Do you see these tears? I'm shedding them. But I'm not crying. I don't do that needlessly anymore. I'm no longer twelve. I've been through a _war. _I don't cry, least of all for you. I just wanted to let you see something familiar, and you didn't even blink."

The teen almost looked surprised. "You faked?"

The girl shakes her head. "No. I'm sad, so I shed tears. I'm just not crying. Do you get it? You don't get it, and that makes me sadder. You need to be stopped. I know you're hurting on the inside from whatever happened that made you so, so like _this_. But that's no excuse, Sasuke-kun. So I'm going to hurt you on the outside, too."

Sasuke frowns, clearly annoyed. "This is obviously a waste of my time. Move aside. I made a promise with the idiot to avoid harming all affiliations with Konoha until I take him down. Count yourselves lucky, and get out of my sight."

Sakura shrugs. "I remember your promise with Naruto. So?"

Sasuke almost snorts. "I see, hedging your survival on my ridiculous promise with Naruto."

Sakura shakes her head. "No, Sasuke-kun. You're as likely to keep a promise as you're likely to forget about your clan. No, I don't want you to keep your promise with Naruto. If anything, I fully expect you to break it, here and soon."

The last Uchiha blinks.

Sakura just smiles. "I love you Sasuke-kun, but Naruto is more important to me. More important to everyone else. He can't die in this war. He won't. I know him. We know him. He'll win, for sure. But he's so _eager_ to save you, even at the risk of his own life. I can't have that. Konoha can't have that. He's going to become Hokage, sooner or later. And every Konoha-nin is obligated and _willing_ to protect the Hokage, and that's what we're going to do."

She takes a step forward, a chakra-entrenched fist briefly visible underneath her cloak. "You're stronger than all of us combined, I can tell just by looking at you. But we're strong too, and you won't win without a scratch. It would be all the better if we can defeat you without suffering casualties, but it's very unlikely. So we're going to fight, and you'll probably kill most if not all of us. But you'll have _big_ scratches. And Naruto will know of this. We've made sure of it. He'll know that you've broken your promise, then he won't _hesitate_ anymore. He'll fight with _everything_ he's got. You will lose, Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke scoffs. "As if."

The pinkette almost laughs. "You'll lose, Sasuke-kun. Deep down, you know this too. You just won't ever admit it."

"So you're willing to die for the Dobe just so he can have motivation?" he asks, a sliver of… admiration (?) in his voice.

"Just like he's willing to do for you," she replies. "Even if you're too far gone to be worth it. Like you said, he's a bit of an idiot, so these kinds of things escape his notice. But he's worth it. Worth _every_ bit of it."

He stares at her, who is still all smiles. His face is neutral, but his hand is resting on the hilt of his blade.

A beat.

Another beat.

And another—

"Sakura… …" he sighs.

The girl tilts her head.

"…you're still annoying."

She beams widely. "Sorry, everyone," she calls out to the Konoha Rookies, "Sorry for dragging you all into Team Seven's mess!"

"Sorry indeed," Shikamaru grouses, cranking his neck slightly, eyes sharp despite the lackluster voice. "This is so damn troublesome. But I guess someone needs to be the brains in this operation."

Choji grins. "Alright! Skinny Akimichi Chouji is ready to rumble!"

"Yosh!" Lee exclaims. "Your spring time of youth is truly invigorating Chouji-san! Neji-san! Let us have our final challenge here! We shall see who can land the first attack! If I lose, then I'll—"

"Probably be dead, Lee," Neji drones.

TenTen nudges the Hyuuga prodigy. "Don't be so negative! Lee can survive longer than that!"

Neji rolls his eyes. "Joy."

"Man," Kiba whines. "Hinata-chan is going to be so upset when she finds out we ditched her."

"It was unavoidable," Shino says, voice ever void of inflections. "The reason for which is because we need someone to relay our intended joint operation to Naruto-san should the worst case scenario come to pass. Also, neither you nor I can tolerate the thought of seeing her brought to harm."

Kiba grins toothily. "Ain't that the truth? Well, we can trust Naruto to her, right, Akamaru?"

"Woof!"

"Of course," Neji nods. "Hinata-sama is too important to be risked here."

Tenten quirks an eyebrow. "What am I? Leftover kimchi?"

The Hyuuga lad turns to her. "You are important, too, of course. But, I prefer you here. With me."

The weapons-girl smiles.

"What!" Ino nearly shrieks and glares at her teammates. "And you assholes didn't think about protecting fragile ol' me!"

"Please, let her die first," Shikamaru mutters.

"I heard that!"

"Why is my presence required?" Sai asks, seemingly amused. "The Konoha Rookies take care of their own, correct? I am merely the replacement. I should be exempt from this insanity."

"Well," Ino purrs, batting her eyelashes. "You're here because your lil' miss beautiful is here, right?"

Sai gapes slightly. "I…uh…yes. I guess…I guess that is the reason."

Ino beams.

"Well, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura grins. "Do you think you're ready?"

Uchiha Sasuke stares, long and stern. His eyes shut for one brief moment—Mangekyou Sharingan.

He draws his blade. "No regrets?" he asks, softly.

She smiles.

"Nope," she says, and makes the first move.

* * *

AN: Please read and review!


	2. Chapter 2

—he's barely back on the ground again and the wavy whip of a shadow is already trying to ensnare him. Usually this wouldn't be such a problem. He can just overpower the technique itself, but—

He dodges a whirlwind of a roundhouse, and barely avoids the chakra infused punch that follows.

—a split second might be a second too long.

In battle, a factor to victory lies in the ability to outmaneuver your enemies.

Lee is fast. He's also doing a good job in avoiding eye contact, fighting by watching his feet, something that came quite unexpected. But the taijustsu expert is not as fast as he remembers, which means as of now, he is faster. What Lee is doing, however, is working in tandem with Sakura, whose punches always seem to come after a kick that functioned both as an attack as well as a feint. And his instincts tell him that blocking is not an option.

He quickly back-dashes, creating a distance that Sakura won't be able to cover as fast as Lee, who won't be able to notice due to his high speed motion.

The shadow is twisting on itself to catch the end of his heel, at the same time Lee does a wide arc heel drop. It's a mistake. It would be a leg lost.

Instead of avoiding the strike, he closes in right beneath, and ready to slash upwards. Except his instincts kick in, and he pivots to the right as a _mass_ of pressurized air sails by just next to him. A quick glance behind and he catches Neji slipping into a stance that is not meant for close-quarter encounters, and performs another palm-strike into what should be thin air, but instead propels the very atmosphere into cannon strikes.

He flips through the air, avoiding the snaking shadow as well as both the roundhouse and long-distance palm strike and throws half a dozen shurikens in one motion.

Neji doesn't even bat a byakugan as he stands his ground and pushes the air again, for the projectiles aimed at his vitals are suddenly picked off midair.

He expects this, for Tenten has been circling behind Neji in constant motion, darting in and out of sight. The true attack would be the blade of lightning chakra that is aiming for the eyes.

The blade extends and extends, until it's just about to sink in, and _stops_. Just centimeters away.

Neji ducks under and fires another shot, at the same time three dozen shurikens and kunais arc in towards him, pulled by _strings_?

He looks down to see the tendril of shadow serving as a nodule for anchoring, and realizes that, he has been pushed into the center of a ring.

Shikamaru. And what he said. _Figures the landscape offers no advantages for an ambush._

This was the intention all along. In the open field, on the edge of a forest, flanked on all sides and poked until his range of attack is calculated.

"Tch." He parries Lee's right hook and performs an elbow jab that forces distance between them.

In battle, many a times, the numbers influence the outcome.

Immediately, he nicks his thumb with the tip of his blade and slams it upon the ground. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

A poof and a quickly dispersed white fog later, two cobras the size of buildings is already sweeping the ground like a serpentine maelstrom, forcing Team Gai to move and snapping numerous trees in the process.

From atop the back of one of the summons, he traces Lee, who lands just a quick shunshin's distance away, and charges lightning into his blade.

But suddenly he feels the summon go through a full body flinch, and soon performs a shunshin away instead of towards, to avoid a giant snake bite.

It's barely an instant, but through his sharingan he catches a glimpse of Ino's slumped form over Chouji's shoulder and has his suspicions confirmed.

The other summon hesitates, uncertain about the situation that has taken place. The consequence of that moment's hesitation is Sakura's fist, which collides with the force of a meteorite, literally burying half the snake's giant form into the ground.

The shockwave of the impact shook the entire air, momentarily dispersing even the rain in a dome of _force_.

Sasuke blinks as Sakura climbs off the twitching tail of the summon, tugging on her glove just as the puff of white cloud erupts from behind her.

He finds himself staring at her smirk. "You…"

"I just need one, Sasuke-kun," she says, and lunges forward, just at the same time the possessed summon whips its tail like a stave.

Her speed leaves much to be desired, so he's not quite certain why he is only barely able to dodge.

It is a gross overestimation, he realizes.

She will only need a touch.

Why?

Why is that everything is never as it seems? Why is that everything that he believes, everything that he remembers, shatters and changes right before him? When did he lose and gain nothing?

She's closing in again, a determined strength in her eyes.

Why…why are they so… … why is she so…

He sidesteps her.

In what feels like minutes, he studies the opening in her guard, and leaps away.

With a quick hand-sign, he dismisses the possessed summon, a puff of white smoke taking its place.

The smoke is large and wide, almost as if a quick fading fog in a tempered weather, and he is momentarily blinded. So instead of seeing, he hears the almost thundering buzzing that surrounds him, and charges chidori through his entire body, zapping several kikaichu off and avoiding being encased.

He needs to move. This is fast becoming annoying. This is supposed to be barely a warm up. For what's to come. Even before they started fighting, he could see it. They were all tired and drained, physically. It shouldn't matter that they are probably popped up on soldier pills. It shouldn't matter Shikamaru is probably formulating strategies by the hundreds. It shouldn't matter that somehow their spirits are strong and determined. It shouldn't matter that apparently Sakura can punch earthquakes. He's fought stronger, faster, more skilled and more in numbers. The Uchiha is strong. He is strong. Itachi is strong. While they are of Konoha. A weak, dark place that belonged buried under flames. And yet—

"We are strong, Uchiha, because we have something to protect."

He faces Neji, a chidori already in his left hand. He has a direct line to the pair of byakugan, but knows a genjutsu won't work here.

Neji calmly shifts his stance. "We are shinobi of the leaf. And because of that, we always have something to protect. Just as you once had as well."

Sasuke's eyes narrow.

He quickly notes Shino to the left, Tenten to the right, Lee landing behind, and Team Ten and the Replacement just at the edge of his sight. Then where are…?

"Nothing has changed. Since three years ago," Neji continues, when Sasuke doesn't reply, "you've been in a dark place all this time. You fear the darkness, so you hide within it."

Sasuke glares.

"I was in a dark place once too," Neji said, face impassive. "It was uncomfortable, and it hurt. So I wanted others to hurt as well. To feel the same pain I felt. To feel justified at my actions while blaming everyone else for the darkness forced upon my entire being. I hid in the darkness, and I couldn't see out of it."

Sasuke glares harder. "Don't presume to know me. You know _nothing_."

Neji stares calmly back. "I know enough. I _see _enough. Your darkness is not dissimilar to the one that enshrouded me. It blinds you. And I see now that the one who saved me, will have to be the one who shows you the sun. But for now…"

Below. He flips to the side, just as a massive swirl of fur and fangs drills out of the ground, and thrusts his hand into the side…and be intercepted by a barrier of kikaichu.

Neji takes that instant to close in. "You are within the range of my divination."

Sasuke curses and locks onto the Hyuuga, ready to incinerate the opponents in black flames if need be.

Only for the said opponent to slip out of his stance and leap back, while Kiba and Akamaru drill away at the same time.

His confusion lasts only for a second.

His hands drop to his side, forced down by an unseen force. His eyes follow the trail. From his feet, to the hole from which Kiba and Akamaru struck out from, then to the several dozen holes that pelted the entire field, before finally ending at the caster.

Shikamaru smirks, hands at his side. "Kagemaru no jutsu. Success."

He shouldn't have looked. It cost him a few seconds, which by then allowed Tenten to be airborne.

By the time he takes notice, Tenten has already unrolled twenty scrolls, all of which trail behind her like war flags. She pulls on them and unseals.

Then she starts spinning.

He's not entirely certain how she's doing it, but there are kunai, shuriken, senbon, knives, naginata, tantou, spears, flails, sabres, tsurugi, and _more. _All of which may or may not carry _explosive tags._

He can't see the sky.

Still, it'll only take a moment. If he can move…

Sasuke looks at Shikamaru, and knows from his expression, that the Nara has no intention of releasing the technique, and has resigned to becoming a pincushion alongside.

This is _annoying_.

In battle, if one cannot outrun or outnumber their enemies, then overpower them.

Like a rising fortress from the netherworlds, his Susano emerges within the waterfall of weaponry and tactile explosions. With an unheard roar, Susano bears its flames.

With this, it is over—

A _ripple_ reverberates throughout Susano's armored form, from front to back, from the top to the very the ground on which he stands.

He stares, at the fist that is only separated by Susano's armored ribcage.

He stares, at the pair of green eyes that used to always be full of tears.

The pair of eyes, that hasn't looked away since the very beginning.

He watches, unmoving, as Lee whisks her away at incredible speeds.

He watches as they, all of them, one by one, stand before him again.

Not surrounding him, but standing _before_ him, looking at him straight in the eyes.

There is a tug. Somewhere within that he can't quite identity. It hurts a little, but…

"Don't blink, Sasuke-kun," Sakura chirps, smirking.

Almost as if coordinated, they all dash in.

He readies Susano.

It continues to rain.


	3. Chapter 3

He wills Susano to raise its shield arm to deflect the enormous shoulder tackle and the wave of shadow spikes—

_SLAM._

He stares at the fist and the pair of green eyes behind it.

She…there isn't even that much killing intent pulsing from her. She just, really wants to punch him…

Susano folds on itself, altering the trajectory of Garuga while simultaneously drawing blood with the tip of an arrow.

Sakura takes this chance to pull back and strike again with a thundering war cry. Once more, he stares at the gloved fist through Susano's plated ribcage.

…in the face, apparently.

Susano points a palm at her, but she instantly pounds the ground before her, and a pillar of earth and rain becomes her shield against the flames.

Kiba and Akamaru dive in and whisk away Sakura just before Susano swats away the makeshift barrier.

He doesn't miss Kiba clutching his side as patches of Akamaru's fur are coated red.

In a split moment, Susano pulls back its bow, takes aim, and fires.

The arrow takes flight, at near sonic speed, and drills into—

"Kaiten!"

—hits a dome of turbulent chakra and _shatters. _Both and the arrowhead and the flames scatter, and soon so does the technique die down.

He watches, calmly, as Neji falls to his knees, breathing rigorously.

Within Susano, he looks behind him, tomoe spinning and spinning, and straight into the eyes of both Lee and Tenten.

The two of them tremble in midair, pupils dilating, and crashes to the ground.

The Replacement performs a shunshin to his right, a hand-sign formed, and the earth beneath him sloshes, unsettling his footing.

He grimaces and immediately charges chidori through his body, nicking off the few kikaichu that took several unexpected bites.

The Replacement takes the opportunity to close in with a brush—

"Enough," Sasuke growls.

In the one hand of Susano, black flames spread across the field in the form of innumerable discus. One in particular will burn both Shikamaru and Ino both to cinders, if not for the sudden enlarged plated arm that bears the bleak outcome for them.

In the other hand, Susano forms a giant ethereal fist, and hammers the ground before it.

It's a tsunami of wet earth, rocks, and trees. There is enough directional, widespread push that nearly everything in sight is swept.

The Replacement flew from the force with such velocity that the landing will not be benign.

He sees Shino slammed and buried under braches and stones alongside the entirety of Neji and Team Ten. As well as…

From within the blanket of rained rubble, a massive drill of ferocity and fangs bursts forth. "Garouga!"

He has to admit, the technique requires effort to hold down single-handed. Nevertheless…

Susano raises its flames, as the spin comes to a halt.

Sasuke watches, as the blood drips from both sides of the two-headed canine beast.

Slowly, Susano lowers its hand…

"Sixth Gate! Open!"

He turns just in time to guard against a kick enhanced by several levels of chakra enhancements. Yet the impact is still enough to shift his stance.

Lee leaps clear above the towering form of Susano.

Soon fists of bright flames rain over every inch of the guardian jutsu as well as the earth around it.

Sasuke grunts as short, rhythmic bursts of pain course through his arms and eyes, and he nearly goes to his knees, but with a roar he wills Susano to push against the armada of iron fists and _slams_.

With a loud crash, Lee snaps out from the air and into the earth, and does not get back up.

Sasuke breathes, slightly heavy.

A beat.

And another.

He surveys the nearly altered landscape, and the ensuing silence, save for the rain—

"Now! Chouji!"

He snaps forward.

In Chouji's enlarged and cocked-back palm, Sakura crouches within. Roar at the top of his lungs, the Akimichi flings, and crumbles to the ground.

She bullets towards him.

Her fist is pulled back, the other outstretched before her.

She looks straight at him, pink bangs pulled behind her in the sharp wind.

Almost in slow motion, just before the collision, and the inevitable _force_ that is certain to follow, he watches her eyes.

"Sharanno!" She _punches_.

The barrier between them _shatters_ _like a broken mirror_.

It feels as if she brought the winds with her because—because he is flying, sailing within the breached Susano, which fades into obscurity as he lands on his back.

He stares into the raining sky.

A beat.

He sits up.

She is panting, labored. Her fist is shaking. Her eyes clench, biting her lips and drawing blood. She clenches her fist as well, and as a resolution alights in her eyes, so does the trembling cease.

Slowly, he stands, and walks over.

She continues to breathe heavily, pink, dirt-crusted hair matted against her face. "It's…it's n-not over yet!"

She lunges at him. Clumsily.

He sidesteps. There is a tug somewhere, and he almost, almost holds out an arm.

Instead, she nearly falls on her knees.

Painfully slowly, she rises again, knees almost buckling, and as they are facing each other once again, he stares into her eyes.

She is not afraid.

A beat.

Another beat.

And another—

She cocks back a fist.

He draws his blade.

.

.

.

* * *

.

.

.

He crouches down, and lays her head down, gently.

He stares, eyes dark, as the rain continues its pitter-patter, droplets drumming atop her face.

A beat.

And another.

He brushes away the pink strands from her closed eyes, and wipes away the dry blood at the corner of her mouth.

He pulls the thick cloak up to her chin, and tucks the fringes firmly around her shoulders.

He stares for a moment longer before he rises, painfully grunting mid-stand, almost wobbling on his feet with his right hand pressing against his side, where a small red carnation blooms.

He laughs softly, unsmiling.

He watches the raining sky.

A wind howls, as somewhere in the distance behemoth forces clash.

He looks to the ground.

A beat.

Slowly, he picks up the pink-headband metal plate, clenching it in his hand.

He looks at her. One more time.

He walks. Towards the bright horizon, and into the dark. Tomoe spinning and spinning.

It continues to rain.


	4. Chapter 4

He waits.

He breathes in the rained air, his head tilting upwards.

He watches the shadowed sky through half-lidded eyes of dark.

The wind rolls past his cheeks in waves.

With the tips of his fingers, he touches his forehead. "Nii-san…"

His eyes snap open.

_He's _here.

Sasuke watches, expressionless, as they come face to face. Finally.

A beat.

Another beat.

And another—

"It's not real," Naruto chokes out, voice barely heard over the rain. "It isn't _real_."

Behind the blonde, Hinata breathes shakily, her eyes ever so wide and _aghast._

He only stares back, silent.

Naruto shakes his head wildly. "It can't be real! There's no way that this can be real!"

Wordlessly, Sasuke tosses the item in his hand to the ground before them.

Both Naruto and Hinata stare at the pink-headband and forehead protector. Of the Leaf.

Sasuke stares, apathetic. "Isn't it?"

Trembling, Naruto reaches for the battered metal plate, but his feet just _won't move_.

Two beads of tears roll down Hinata's cheeks, mingling with the rain.

"Th-that's a lie," Naruto chokes, a lump in his throat, wobbling on unstable footing. "This…it can't…it _just can't_…"

"They wanted to protect you," Sasuke says, holstering the strap of his blade. "They were willing to do _anything _to give you a better chance. I wonder. Does this make it your fault as well?"

Naruto simply stares in disbelief.

"You've forgotten, Naruto," Sasuke continues. "You've forgotten the meaning of _true strength_. It is forged in the pains of solitude. These severed bonds. They're what made you strong; what makes me _stronger_."

"_You promised_," Naruto hacks out. There is blood in his clenched fists.

Sasuke tilts his head up. "Have I now?"

Naruto simply stares at the puddled grounds, his features twisted in _fury _and _grief_.

The Uchiha narrows his eyes. "Do you want to know what she said? Right up until the end?"

Sasuke watches as Naruto flinches, an unhappy grin parting his lips. "She said—"

A blur passes by Naruto, who gasps in panic. "Hinata!"

Like liquid wind, she moves through the rain and closes the distance in less than a blink. Tears trailing behind like suspended crystals, her byakugan pulses.

"Give them back," she all but whispers, for the _roar_ is in her hands, both of which now hold the fierce powers of raging lions.

Sasuke responds equally quickly, the sound of metal on metal _slower_ than the draw of the blade. He is ready to kick, to punt the girl as soon as she ducks to advance within his guard.

Except she doesn't. Instead she times her leap cleanly over the blurring beam of sharp metal, and _pushes_.

He back-dashes in the last second, to avoid or at least lessen the force of the impact. He is partially successful, for he is only grazed on his sword arm.

It's still enough to almost _tear_ his joints into dislocation.

Through the pain, he…laughs? "Figures," he grunts, stumbling back.

The girl continues the pursuit, a despaired grimace upon her features. She dashes in, and aims for the neck.

She thrusts into thin air. Her eyes widen as Sasuke speaks from behind her.

"So, even you can muster killing intent," he says, looking at her, tomoe spinning.

She twists wildly around to—

Sasuke grasps her by the arm, charging a merciless chidori through both of them.

Hinata cries out in pain as the lightning chakra practically chokes her entire body and nearly lights her byakugan aflame. But through the pain, her eyes narrow, and she thrusts her fingers towards—

She flies backwards from the push of the kick, landing painfully on her back.

Sasuke is upon her almost immediately, his blade raised vertically. "Perhaps _her _last words will be a satisfactory alternative."

Naruto watches all of this, his feet somehow rooted to the ground in panicked betrayal. He watches, in slow motion, as layers upon layers of tunneled visions of _something _overlaps the image before him and passes through his mind and he sees her bleeding through lifeless eyes, a black stake through her heart and he _screams_.

Sasuke thrusts downwards, and impales flesh.

Hinata blinks away the white flashes, and gasps. "N-Naruto-kun!"

Stiffly, his fingers clench around the blade that pierced cleanly through the hand, blood already washing with the rain. Eyes flashing in blue and red, Naruto glares into impassive spinning tomoe.

The sound of a thousand birds shrieks from his left hand, and so Sasuke pulls back to—

He's barely able to blink before a sudden _sun-flare_ nearly blinds him and his blade _snaps like a twig_.

Trying to see through spots, he aims for what he believes to be a vital, and thrusts at thin air. The next moment, he is sent barreling through rain and mud. He grimaces and quickly recovers through a roll to his feet.

He spats the blood that pooled in his mouth as Naruto walks forward. It's as if golden flames coat his entire being, flames that whip to and fro, like dancing ghosts and smoke.

Naruto grits his teeth, the gaping hole in his hand already nothing but a thin line. "SASUKEEEEEEE!"

_BAM!_

He's sent flying again. He couldn't even _see_.

"NARUTOOOOO!"

In a flash, Susano forms in midair and black flames bursts forth in a ring of fire.

Landing in a crouch, Sasuke pants as pain wracks through his chest, and a trail of blood pours from his left eye. He looks up, _up_, at Naruto, who stares down from atop a mound of earth. Practically a hill that the jinjuriki made by _braking_.

"That's it," he laughs, his shoulders shaking as a grim grin forms. "That's it, Naruto. Show me everything that you've got. Fight me with _everything_ that you have, and I'll do the same."

Naruto glares.

_Flash!_

In an instant, he reappears, _head-butting_ Susano's armored form and _pushing_ it back, and back, and back ever more until their foreheads are separated only by mere inches of solid chakra.

Sasuke stares into the pair of fierce, golden blue eyes, and smirks.

Susano spins, forming a clawing typhoon and Naruto flashes away, but Sasuke watches carefully this time, and a split moment later, takes aim, and fires.

Naruto catches the speeding projectile within his hands, but the momentum of it overwhelms him, and takes him on a ride off into the distance.

Sasuke lowers his hand, the blood dripping through his smirk and down his chin, watching as a golden flash bursts in the faraway. "Do you think you're ready?"

It's raining still.


	5. Chapter 5

Sheer blast force clashes with gigantic chakra constructed sword.

A crater forms.

A line parts the rainclouds.

_BOOM._

Dust clouds and earth-rain take place where mountains used to be.

He looks up, no longer through the filters of violet chakra. Beneath the line drawn into the sky, there is no rain. But there is no light either.

The arteries in his arms and eyes twitch and pulse. He coughs into his hand. There is blood.

Chakra. Near Zero.

A beat.

He smirks.

The rocks and dust settle. He sees. Naruto crouches, perhaps twenty yards away, blood dripping from the bridge of his nose, drawing in slow, deep breaths.

A hand pushing on the knee, Naruto climbs to his feet. Sturdy. Strong.

Blue eyes stare into dark ones.

A beat.

And another.

They dash in.

Chidori in the left hand.

Rasengan in the right.

They clash.

Sheer centrifugal force meets cackling lightning made manifest.

The _boom _comes. Later.

It fades. The sky. The earth. The rain. The world. Time. It fades.

It is _White_.

.

.

.

* * *

An infinite spanning space of white.

The two of them, Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke stand. Across from each other. On different sides. Always…

A beat.

"I suppose I can't call you ignorant anymore," he says.

Naruto simply stares.

"You wanted to understand me. My pain. My _hatred_. Well, here it is. This is why I _hate_. Everything. You. Them. Konoha. _Everything_. It's not the same, is it? Pain stemmed from loneliness. This _hurts_, and the pain never _leaves_. It scratches, claws at you from the inside out until all you can think about is how much you just want everything to _die._ To stop _existing _because, because at least then, even if it's dark, it'll be _quiet_."

His eyes narrow. "All those faces, all those smiles, that you love more than anything else. Just _gone_. You think I don't know? That in spite of everything I say, everything I do, it's still utterly meaningless? That no matter who I kill or what I burn down, I'll _never get those smiles back_?"

He laughs. "I know that. I fucking know that! I know every day I walked through the ghost town I used to call home! I know every night when I fall asleep and every morning when I open my eyes! I know every time when I look into a mirror or even just a fucking puddle! Everything is _gone _and there's nothing that can be done about it except satisfying the _hate_ you have of just _everything else_!"

His laugh, chokes. Eyes darker still. "And when you finally get there, finally get what you always claimed you wanted, it still crashes around you because _it's all a lie_. All of it. Just lies and more lies. There's nowhere else to go. Nothing to look towards. Because you can't even tell if it's real or just another illusion. How does it feel? You wanted to _save _me, to understand me. Well, here it is, all on a damn platter. I gave you what you wanted. You're the same as me now. A first rate shinobi with nothing but a pile of corpses to think of. The fate of world and time stretched out before us and all of it worthless! So tell me! _How does it feel?_"

Naruto stares.

A beat.

Another beat.

And another—

Slowly, Naruto smiles.

…Sasuke blinks.

"Heheh," the blonde laughs softly, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head, "sorry. It's just, this is kinda the first time you've ever told me how you really felt, you know?"

Sasuke gapes. "What?"

Naruto lowers his hand, a soft glow in his eyes. "Like you said, this is different from the pain of being alone. Knowing that the days will never be the same again, because there's just so much that's lost, never able to get back? Yeah. It hurts. It hurts _a lot_. It hurts just like when Jiraiya-sensei was gone. It hurts knowing he won't be around to drop in unannounced and steal my wallet or make me read his ero-books. It hurts thinking about how when I get a cut or a bruise, it'll be someone else who patches me up. No one to scream about youth, or have an eating contest with, or yell at me for being careless, or laugh about stupid jokes, or just because I'm always so troublesome or something."

He touches his stomach. "It was only for a short while, but I got the love I needed. The love I thought I never had to begin with. It's always been there, and always will be. If I just close my eyes and smile, I can see them smiling too. So, I have no need for hate. Hating and being angry just gets tiring after a while. It's annoying and it'll just get in the way."

Sasuke's breath hitches.

A soft laugh parts his grin. Naruto looks up. "I still have somewhere to go back to. I still have something left to protect. Tons more left to protect. We all share the same home, the same sunny place. It may never be the same again, but I'll never forget them. Theirs smiles, or the time we spent together. The only way I'll lose, is if I _forget_. And I _won't_. Ever. That's a promise of lifetime. My lifetime. I'll protect our home. Even if I gotta do so alone, I'll put my life on the line for it. Always."

Sasuke stares.

A beat.

And another.

His eyes…lighter. "_Why_?"

Naruto cocks his, an almost wry grin parting. "Cuz they would've wanted me to. They cared about me. They're my precious people. I don't really need any other reason than that."

Sasuke stares, and stares, and _stares_. Somewhere, sometime, his eyes stop bleeding.

"So, c'mon, Sasuke," Naruto grins widely, holding out a fist. "I'll protect Konoha, and I'll take on all of your so-called hatred. I've already decided to take on a huge load anyway, and he's the biggest, fattest whiner ever. I'm ready, dattebayo! Show me what else you've got! I'm so gonna kick your ass!"

He's not sure how, but, but something in him tugs, and it tickles. And before he knows it, something resembling an exasperated laugh nearly chokes him before he swallows it down.

"What!" Naruto scowls. "I'm totally gonna wipe the floor with you! You probably don't even have enough chakra to crawl!"

He scoffs. "That's still enough to leave your face in the dirt."

"Oh, yeah?" Naruto hollers, grinning. "We'll see about that!"

They too fade into the white.

Until even the White itself fades.

.

.

.

* * *

Boom.

The explosion of force sends both of them flying backwards, but somehow, they maintain their footing and skid to a halt.

They are soaked. In rain, sweat, and blood.

Their breaths are heavy, and their bodies heavier still.

But the rain is lighter now. Soon, it will come to a stop.

Sasuke looks at his hand. It trembles. Chakra. Zero.

He looks back up, at the pair of bright blue eyes that shine in the dark. His hand clenches, and the shaking ceases.

He stands up, straight.

He holds a hand out, palms up, and 'beckons'.

Naruto grins. "Let's get wild."

On three, they move.


	6. Chapter 6

—the elbow jab comes in too close, too quick. There's no way to dodge, so take the hit. Take the hit and counterstrike in the shin, disrupt the balance and—

_THWACK_.

Shit. That hurts. Right near the lungs.

Now kick out. Got him. Neck is exposed. Strike with a knife hand. Turns at the last moment, struck the jaw instead. That hurts too.

Grapple him by the collar. Good, it's a solid grip. Make to throw. He resists, but the center of gravity is already breached. There. The opening. Strike. Solid hit. He's coughing. Punch again. Punch again—

Everything is spinning. Shit. Head-butt. Of course, gave him the prime opportunity. Here comes the next one. Dodge to the left. Good, take this into a shoulder throw. Wait, what is he—shit. Block now.

Comes from below. A shadow clone. No, four. They kick. Successful block, but still flying up, _up_.

It's coming. Know what it is. Spin now.

"Naruto Ren—khu!"

Caught his neck by the toes. Now, force it down. Speed down alongside. He lands, cushioned by the clones. Fingers thrusts. Two poofs. He stumbles. Now is the chance.

My turn now. The Lion Combo. This is how it's done.

Launch kick. Jump. Strike. Grapple the counterstrike. Feint. Kick, then—damn. Another shadow clone. When did he—

Land. Where? Behind. Duck.

The fist sails by. Kick backwards. Hear a grunt. No poof, not a clone.

Roll into a flip. Charge. Headbutt him. Let him have a taste. Shit. Shouldn't have done that. Hurts.

He punches. Parry. No, it's a feint. He's—

Looking at the sky now. Out of focus. What happened? An up-kick? From that angle? Damn. Got struck in the jaw.

On the ground now. A tackle. Shit it hurts. A couple of ribs probably gave out.

Knife hand to his throat. He croaks, stumbling back. Glaring, scowling. Ha, serves him right.

Shit. This isn't a fight. It's a brawl.

Who am I slugging against?

Don't remember. Just don't want to lose. Have to keep moving. Keep the pressure on.

Dash in. Punch, a feint. He tries to dodge. Kick. Send him flying backwards. Leg feels as if covered in pins and needles.

He bounces back up. Barely a pause. Damn.

Breathing is difficult. Lungs feel like they're on fire. Can't see well. Blood in the eyes.

So… _tired_.

But… it's quiet. I feel like…laughing. That's absurd. I don't have a reason to. Then again, I don't have a reason not to either.

He's coming in strong, whoever he is. Time to end this. Remember later.

Put everything into this leap.

Put everything into this shout.

Put everything into this punch.

_Everything._

_BAM!_

.

.

.

Slowly, he opens his eyes. Through half-lidded eyes, caked in mud and blood, he stares at the sky. It's stopped raining. Fianlly.

It hurts all over, but, he feels sleepy.

He thinks, somehow, he can sleep now.

"Oi…"

He tilts his head a little, at an angle. Who? The sun? No, that's stupid. That would mean that there are two suns. And that's just stupid.

Naruto. Well, then. That makes more sense.

He opens his mouth. To speak. Hacks out blood instead.

Damn, it hurts. He really feels like laughing now.

He feels the blonde step closer.

He stares up.

Naruto stares back, eyes soft. "Sasuke…"

"N-Naruto-kun!"

He turns, eyes wide, surprised, relieved. "H-Hinata!"

She runs to him, touching his face, arms, chest, and not a single blush, so absorbed in him in worry.

"H-hey!" Naruto nearly yelps when the girl almost rips his shirt off to check for wounds. "H-Hinata! I'm okay! Really! Look, look!"

He pantomimes a kabuki and shows her his bloodied but barely wounded torso.

She exhales in relief, before blushing and visibly shaking her head to clear her thoughts. "Naruto-kun! It…it's…it's…!"

Naruto begins to look worried. "Wh-wha! What is it?"

The girl's eyes shine and wobble, and she's choking back a smiling sob. "It's Sakura-san!"


	7. Chapter 7

_The sound of metal._

_Her eyes are wide. _

_She watches, as his face snaps to the side, her fist weakly hanging post-strike._

_The wind blows. She blinks. Her headband comes apart, and soon her forehead protector drops to the ground. She looks from the metal plate back to the Uchiha, confused, but wary and alert._

_He sheathes his blade._

_She glares at him. "Why?"_

_Sasuke touches his cheek, where she just struck him, expression neutral. His mouth moves and—_

"_Sakura-san!"_

_Sasuke leans forward, back-grabs the kick aimed at his head, and performs a single-handed kata-guruma that transfers the momentum into the throw._

"_Lee-san!" Sakura cries as she catches and struggles under the teen's weight._

"_I'll protect you, Sakura-san!" Lee shouts, an arm slacking at his side, and nearly collapses right on the spot as his breath hitches._

_Sakura tries, but she can barely stand, let alone draw forth any more chakra to use iijutsu._

_Sasuke takes another step, and hops, hovering right above a jyuuken strike, tantou swing, and a claw swipe. He kick-spreads, and swings with the scabbard, sending Neji, Tenten, and Kiba to the ground._

_Kiba lands nearly face first, clutching his side in severe grimace._

_Sasuke touches ground, and kicks, lifting Kiba like a log, and punts him towards a boulder._

_In a blur, Tenten and Neji both intercept, catching Kiba midair._

"_L-look out!" _

_They both turn too late, and Sasuke holds them both by the shoulders, and charges a chidori through all of them._

_In pained screams, they collapse into a heap._

_Struggling out of Sakura's arms, Lee charges at the top of his lungs, and punches. Only for Sasuke to streamline right under the strike and counter-punch, right in the face, and sending him sprawling to the ground. _

_Sakura runs over, but her legs suddenly give away, and she nearly falls to the ground._

_Sasuke takes another step, before raising his scabbard and deflecting a rock._

_Completely disheveled, and void of all armor, which are discarded and still burning in black flames, Chouji pants, post-throw, while the other arm cradles the slumped forms of Shikamaru, Ino, and Sai._

_Next to him, Akamaru limps over, carrying Shino._

_Sasuke stares, tomoe spinning. He scoffs. "Really, all of you…"_

_He blurs. _

_Chouji is barely able to blink before he lurches, eyes rolling into white, and collapses forward, the butt of Sasuke's blade withdrawing from the back of the head._

_Akamaru snarls and charges, fangs first. He flinches, though, when Sasuke blurs and grabs him by the snout, tomoe spinning, and suddenly his eyes droop and he falls to the ground with Shino in toe._

_He looks all of them over. No movements._

_His eyes turn dark, and he finally looks over._

_Sakura grits her teeth, clenching a fist._

_Sasuke blurs._

_Her eyes widen and she swings an elbow backwards._

_Sasuke catches it easily. The other hand gently pushing on her waist, he spins her around, but not releasing his hold on her arm._

_She finds herself staring into his eyes, again, and up close. _

_A beat._

"_You really do believe in that loser," he says._

_She blinks. She scowls. "Did I stutter?"_

_He doesn't frown. Doesn't even blink. He just stares._

_And Sakura stares fearlessly right on back._

_A beat._

_And another._

_He nods. _

_She blinks. She moves to speak—_

_Her eyes widen in shock before her eyes droop, peripherally aware of a withdrawing knife-hand, and slumps forward._

_Her forehead taps against, something, something soft. And she swears she hears the sounds of heartbeats before everything goes dark._

.

.

.

* * *

.

.

.

Naruto smiles, wide and wobbly because his eyes are tearing up and the smile just keeps getting wider and _wider_. "Fuzzy Brows! Neji! Tenten!"

"Y-yosh…" Lee grins with a shaky fist, eye swollen, and unable to walk without the support of both Neji and Tenten, but very much _alive._

"Y-you guys aren't dead!" Naruto cheers tearfully, bolting over.

Tenten looks ill. "R-really? I s-sure f-feel like keeling over."

Neji groans his agreement.

"Neji-niisan!" Hinata cries happily, right alongside Naruto, who is slapping the trio into a very funny looking hug.

"D-don't f-forget me," Kiba mutters, slung over Akamaru's back, bandages wrapped around his waist, "a-and Akamaru, too."

Akamaru barks.

"Gluuurk…"

"Oh. A-and Shino is k-kinda okay too."

"Kiba! Akamaru! Shino!" Naruto cheers. "Oh, man, I never thought I'd miss your nasty dog breath so much!"

"U-up yours, Naruto."

"Arf!"

"Glorrrpp…"

Hinata laughs and wraps her arms around Akamaru's neck.

"Daddy, I wanna go home~" Ino whines, half-conscious, slumped over Chouji's back.

Chouji chuckles.

Shikamaru limps over, an arm slung over Sai's shoulders. "I think the situation speaks for itself."

Sai nods. "This is bloody troublesome."

Shikamaru raises an eyebrow.

"Chouji! Ino! Shikamaru! Sai!"

Shikamaru winces. "Dammit, Naruto, you're lowering our chances of survival by making us _deaf."_

Naruto laughs and smacks the Nara on the back.

Sai smiles from ear to ear.

Lying prone on the ground, Sasuke blinks at the presence next to him. He stares up into green eyes.

A beat.

She crouches down.

Another beat.

"Why?" she asks. Voice even. Clear.

It goes quiet.

In another moment, Naruto crouches down next to Sakura. Both of them stare.

Gradually, Sasuke turns to Naruto, then back to her again, his breath slow and in rasps.

He stares into eyes of green. A pair of eyes, that just refuses to look away.

_Because…because just once. For just one time, I wanted to be the liar. The one who lied…and made everything…just maybe…make sense. Somehow. Just once._

A beat.

Another beat.

And another—

"_Hn_," he grunts, and turns away.

Silence.

"Told you you'd lose," Sakura deadpans.

A beat.

Naruto laughs in surprise.

Sasuke tries to roll his eyes. Damn it hurts. "_He…g-got…l-lucky…"_

Naruto grins widely. "Dammit, Teme! You're such a sore loser! Just admit I whooped your butt and save yourself the humiliation!"

The Uchiha opens his mouth, and hacks blood.

Sakura's eyes narrow, and immediately starts preliminary administrations, her hands glowing ethereal green as she moves over his torso.

He grimaces. "…_stop it…I d-don't need your…_"

She ignores him and looks over to Naruto. "Naruto, go into my pack and get the vial bag. Also, see if you can get some clean water."

"On it, Sakura-chan!"

She nods and looks towards Hinata. "Hinata-san, can you come here and look?"

The Hyuuga girl nods, jogging over, her byakugan flaring to life the next moment. "I see…I see a lot of damaged chakra coils and tissues."

Sakura nods, again. "I figured as much. Hinata-san, I'm going to need you to close specific tenketsu when I tell you to. Can you do that?"

Hinata nods firmly. "Yes."

He coughs and tries again. "_…S-Sakura…I said…I d-don't want—_"

"Sasuke-kun," she glares. "Shut the hell up." She continues working.

He sighs.

_She really is annoying. All of this…is just so annoying._

He looks up into the sky.

The rain has stopped, but the rainclouds have yet to part.

Somehow, though, a crack forms right above him, above all of them.

In that the crack, he sees the sun.

Minutes pass, during which he watches the sky and listens. The clouds move, like a slow moving herd of sheep. The others continue to chatter and fuss, like a bustling market place or classroom of students.

He takes all of it in, because now, finally, after so long, he's emptied himself.

Breathing gets easier. His eyelids get heavier.

_Nii-san…if I close my eyes now and smile…will you be smiling too?_

As he closes his eyes, his lips curled ever so slightly, and everything goes dark and quiet, he thinks he sees someone smiling back.


End file.
